Key Moment #1
Alex picking Tana to join him on Net Worth, leaving the dysfunctional married couple of Kendra and Craig to duke it out.

And the latter pair won. Wasn’t that kind of extraordinary? Big points go to Kendra for coming up with the marketing idea that likely won the task: e-mailing 3,000 art fans who would go for the “collector’s item” tee-shirt commemorating 50 years of tee-shirt culture.

Kendra’s been stealthily sneaking her way to the top for weeks now and now only has the bright-but-limited Craig and the now nicked up Tana to go through in order to land the Trump-land job.

Key Moment #2
Alex invoking Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.

Note to Alex: This ain’t The Contender, bro. Now back to those books with you.

Key Moment #3
Alex came close to pulling off yet another boardroom miracle but thankfully Trump’s loser-ometer kicked in. Tana lucked out in getting rescued from her worst performance thus far.

Now, all together: can we forget the damned beads already?

Will the final two episodes of The Apprentice bedazzle? I’m guessing not, but I’ll be tuning in nonetheless.

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Thanks for the update. I missed Apprentice last night because of the Bush talk. I mistakenly assumed it would be an hour later, and watched Survivor. I flipped over just in time for Alex’s taxi ride.

http://darkeroticism.blogspot.com swingingpuss

I dont think Craig would be able to make it in the next round. Will we finally see a female contender?..oops I mean apprentice? (wink)

http://rodneywelch.blogspot.com/ Rodney Welch

Alex has proved repeatedly that he only excels at one thing: boardroom politics. Trump was right to overrule on George and Carolyn on this one — Alex would have been the kind of apprentice that would give you nothing more than six months of excuses of why nothing was none and, more importantly, why it isn’t his fault. I was glad to see him go.

Kendra had another fantastic night, didn’t she? She’s an ace “creative type,” and she has proved it over and again.

Of the remaining three, the weak link is clearly Craig, who has done nothing but coast. It was great to see Kendra blast him out of the skies, both figuratively and literally.

In the end, it will be college-educated Kendra versus street-smart Tana. My hope (if not my money) is on Kendra; I can see Tana pulling it off, but I hope she doesn’t.

http://dumpsterbust.blogspot.com Eric Berlin

I predicted an all female final last week, and I don’t see that changing. Craig is clearly competent and clearly superior to Alex (you’re right about him Rodney — his best asset is the ability to shift blame and appear “passionate” in the boardroom) but he lacks the ability to communicate his vision and build consensus and excitement around the people he’s working with.

Kendra has snuck up on me over the last three or four weeks, but I now see her as a serious force to reckon with. I can see an all female final with even odds on who gets the gig.

http://rodneywelch.blogspot.com/ Rodney Welch

The thing that pissed me off about Craig was this: he just could not cointain his dislike for Kendra. Kendra doesn’t like him, either, but she at least was trying — through gritted teeth — to swallow her pride and move ahead. Not Craig; he was willing to waste all the time in the world bitching over this, that and the other. Kendra at least knows that these kinds of battles are completely non-productive when you’re dealing with doing something on a very tight schedule. Craig doesn’t.

Kendra is truly a come-from-behind kid. She won me over ever since she stayed up all night to draft the winning Pontiac campaign (while Tana and Craig slept.) What defines her isn’t a matter of college over high-school — it’s her work ethic, and her ability to perform brilliantly in a short space of time.

http://dumpsterbust.blogspot.com Eric Berlin

I largely agree, Rodney, except to say that Craig is right that Kendra basically doesn’t take in a word that he is trying to tell her. While he can be an overbearing boor at times, she has been very much in the wrong on tasks where he was PM.

The fact that Magna has racked up eight victories in a row in the face of this dynamic is nothing short of amazing. Maybe the pair, in the oddest of ways, brings out the best in one another?

Kendra is bright, communicates well, hasn’t pissed off Trump yet, and has been the creative spark on the last few winning tasks. Unless something goes very wrong during the interview round, she’s a shoo-in for the final.

I still see Tana as a formidable force. I find her to be grating and tacky, but she is a pure saleswoman/manager: tasks that might be very much to her benefit during the final, which will probably require the management of a golf tourney or celeb event.

http://rodneywelch.blogspot.com/ Rodney Welch

No one would take in a word Craig says; as you say, he is a poor communicator. You don’t get your point across by patronizing someone and saying “young lady.” It’s like wearing a sign around your neck that says: “Don’t listen to me. I’m just a hothead.”

And what did he ever tell her that was worth hearing?

http://dumpsterbust.blogspot.com Eric Berlin

By the time “young lady” came about there was already a history there.

I’ve heard other people put most of the blame at Craig’s feet, and I don’t think that’s entirely fair. It’s definitely a two way street with these two. Kendra made a point to ignore and to basically disregard Craig early on, which is the very sign of immaturity that Craig (perhaps immaturely) called out later.